Department for Transport

Public Transport

Lord Hanningfield: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage commuters to give up their seats to the elderly and differently able.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: This remains an operational matter for public transport operators to decide on.　 There are already good practice examples within the industry such as Southern’s Priority Seat Card which can be shown to fellow passengers who are sitting in a priority seat. This will indicate that the passenger using the card has been recognised by Southern as needing a priority seat. The Government is keen to encourage further uptake of these schemes. It remains the responsibility of train operators and their staff to assist priority passengers to obtain a seat and direct other passengers occupying seats accordingly.

Home Office

Visas: Overseas Students

Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many students from Scottish higher educational institutions were granted a Tier 1 Post-Study Work visa in each year since 2009.

Lord Bates: It is not possible to provide data on the number of students from Scottish higher educational institutions who were granted a Tier 1 Post-Study Work visa for every year since 2009 because our records for Tier 1 Post-Study Work applications do not record the previous sponsoring institution in a format which can be used as the basis for a search.It is however possible to provide data on the number of applicants who were granted a Tier 1 Post-Study Work visa while they were resident in Scotland. This data can be found below.Year Total amount of grants issued to migrants resident in Scotland2009 23742010 26482011 29992012 2249Total 10270It cannot be confirmed that these migrants had previously studied at Scottish higher educational institutions, for the reasons previously stated. The Tier 1 Post-Study work route was closed to new applications on 6 April 2012.

North Africa: Refugees

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage the international community to house refugees from the north of Africa.

Lord Bates: We believe resettlement of refugees should be a matter for individual countries. Resettlement has a place as part of the wider asylum process, including as a route for particularly vulnerable refugees, but resettlement of all refugees in North Africa is not practical and could not meet the needs of all genuine refugees. It also would not address the reasons for their flight and risks increasing concentrations of illegal migrants in North Africa. The only sustainable solution is to address the drivers of illegal migration: increasing stability and supporting the development of countries of origin; increasing the capacity of countries in the region to protect refugees so they may return home when circumstances permit; establishing a more effective process of returning illegal migrants; and cracking down on the ruthless criminals who are playing so callously with human lives.

Illegal Immigrants: France

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in recent weeks, and what action they intend to take, to respond to the number of displaced people in Calais.

Lord Bates: The large number of displaced people in Calais is, in part, a consequence of the Schengen Area, in which the UK does not participate. The maintenance of law and order on French soil is, of course, a matter for French Government, but it is in the UK's interest to work with them to bolster security at the port.The Home Secretary and French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve set out a number of commitments in a joint declaration on 20 September 2014 to tackle problems at the port of Calais. This included £12m from the UK Government to help reinforce security.We continue to work with the French Government to implement the practical solutions that have been agreed. We are also working to address the wider problem of illegal migration, for example by increasing joint intelligence work with the French to target the organised crime gangs behind people smuggling.

Racial Discrimination

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the actions and resources required to minimise the adverse effects and impact of institutional racism in society as a whole and in the Metropolitan Police Service, particularly in the light of the statement by the Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police that institutional racism remains a serious problem.

Lord Bates: The Government recognises that people from all communities want the police to fight crime while having confidence that their individual needs will be understood and respected.The Metropolitan Police have worked hard to improve equality and diversity since the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. The officer workforce is more representative in terms of gender and ethnicity than it has ever been. However, the Government is clear that there is more for all police forces to do.Our reforms will allow for faster progress on equality and diversity. PCCs and the College of Policing will play a key role in ensuring improvements in forces. The College of Policing has published advice for forces on the use of more proactive, lawful approaches to the recruitment and progression of officers from currently under-represented groups, using positive action provisions in the Equality Act 2010.New entry routes into policing such as direct entry and Police Now are also helping to improve the diversity of the police workforce. Police Now, a flagship Metropolitan Police scheme aimed at attracting top university graduates, which is supported by Home Office funding received over 2,200 applications, of which 48% were from women, and 19% were from people from Black or Minority Ethnic backgrounds. 79 individuals accepted provisional job offers. Of these, 16% are from a Black or Minority Ethnic background and 47% are women. This is in contrast to the current representation levels in the Metropolitan Police where only 11% of police officers are from a Black or Minority Ethnic background and 25% are women.We have reformed the use of stop and search to ensure that the police use all such powers lawfully, in a targeted and intelligence-led way; and local communities must be able to hold the police to account for their use of the powers. All 43 forces in England and Wales, and the British Transport Police, signed up to the voluntary Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme.In London, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has introduced London residency criteria for police constable recruitment in 2014. Since its introduction MPS figures indicate that the proportion of black and other minority ethnic applicants is now reaching representative levels when compared with London’s population.

Police: Horses

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 8 June (HL172), when the most recent assessment of the utility of the work of police horses in preventing crime and maintaining public safety was made.

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 8 June (HL172), what is the proportion of the work of police horses (1) in operational activity such as crime prevention and maintaining public safety, and (2) in ceremonial activity.

Lord Bates: There is no formal assessment process to determine the utility of police animals, how resources are deployed is an operational matter which rightly rests with chief officers. The contribution of police horses remains important and the Home Office corresponds with the relevant national policing lead on an ad-hoc basis to stay apprised of their views. The most recent contact by my officials was this month and the merits of mounted policing remain unchanged.The Home Office does not record this information, how police horses are used is a matter for chief officers to determine.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Foreign Investment in UK

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many new inward investment projects were secured for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively in the last year for which figures are available; and what is their estimate of the number of new jobs associated with these projects in each of the four nations respectively.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: During 2014/15 UKTI recorded a total of 1,988 successful foreign direct investment projects successfully landing in the UK. The table shows the regional distribution of these projects, and the estimated number of new jobs created. NationInward Investment Projects 2014/15Estimated new jobs associatedEngland (excluding London)90538,157London79621,776Scotland1195,445Wales1015,085Northern Ireland484,007

Department for International Development

Israel: UNRWA

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel on the subject of that country helping with the funding of UNRWA.

Earl of Courtown: The UK regularly engages with the Government of Israel on the need for both parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to reach a political solution which includes a just, fair and realistic settlement for Palestinian refugees. The UN Relief and Works Agency’s mandate is to provide protection and assistance to Palestinian refugees until such a solution is reached.

Department for Education

Schools: Homework

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the initiative for schools to stop giving homework, to help reduce the incidence of teenage mental illness.

Lord Nash: It is right that schools look at how and when they set homework to take account of their individual circumstances and best support pupils to achieve.   Homework is an important part of a child’s education. There is no statutory obligation for schools to set homework. The government does not dictate how much homework children should have to do at any age.   The amount of time children spend on homework, and the type of homework set, varies between schools and depends on a number of factors including the ages of the pupils and their levels of ability. We expect schools to take into account the health and well-being of their pupils at all times, and they have a duty to do so.

Pupils: Gender Recognition

Baroness Barker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they give to schools to ensure that the names of transgender children are recorded appropriately and in such a way as to protect their privacy.

Baroness Barker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the School Information Management System records the names of transgender children in such a way as to protect their privacy.

Lord Nash: The department does not give specific guidance to schools about recording the names of transgender children. The operational arrangements as to how information is recorded and protected within a school’s own information management system are for them to decide locally.   The department advises in its equalities guidance for schools that they must protect from discrimination because of gender reassignment, and address any issues early on, sensitively and proactively. The equalities guidance links to further helpful transgender guidance written by a partnership of bodies in Cornwall, which schools might like to follow.

Ministry of Defence

Army Reserve

Earl Attlee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average age of an Army Reserve Officer.

Earl Howe: As at 1 April 2015, the average age of Army Reserve Officers was 26 years (untrained) and 44 years (trained), providing an overall average of 43 years.

Army: Reserve Forces

Earl Attlee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many direct entry Army Reserve or Territorial Army Officers have been commissioned each year for the last 15 years.

Earl Howe: It is not possible to identify commissions of direct entry Army Reserve or Territorial Army Officers before April 2012. Rounded figures for the financial years from 2012-13 to 2014-15 are shown in the table below: Financial YearDirect Entry Commissions2012-13302013-14352014-1550

Department for Work and Pensions

Mesothelioma: Compensation

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of (1) the number of people who have received compensation under the terms of the Mesothelioma Act 2014 since the Act came into effect, and (2) the number of people projected to receive compensation in each of the next three years.

Baroness Altmann: The information requested is available from the attached Impact Assessment for the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme which was published in March 2014 and sets out the anticipated levels of claims over the first 10 years of the scheme. The scheme has now been running since April 2014 with payments being made from July 2014. We will publish statistics on the number of claims made in 2014/15 in due course, and consider a review of the estimates made in the Impact Assessment in light of this data.



Impact Assessment for Mesothelioma Payment Scheme
(PDF Document, 843.68 KB)

Social Security Benefits: Immigrants

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many victims of trafficking with positive conclusive grounds decisions under the National Referral Mechanism have had applications for (1) Jobseeker's Allowance, and (2) Housing Benefit, refused since 1 January 2014.

Lord Freud: This information is not collected by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Department for Communities and Local Government

Sleeping Rough: Greater London

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their latest estimates of the number of rough sleepers in the London area; and what was the equivalent figure five years ago.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Local authorities provide a snapshot of the number of rough sleepers on a single night each Autumn. Based on these figures, the number of rough sleepers in the London area in Autumn 2014 was 742. A corresponding figure for 2009 is not available because of a new more robust assessment methodology was introduced in 2010 to provide a more accurate picture of rough sleeping across England. A copy of the latest Statistics Release on rough sleeping is attached and further, detail, including figures for individual local authority areas, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics



Autumn 2014 Rough Sleeping data
(PDF Document, 682.47 KB)

Wales Office

Public Buildings: Asbestos

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Ministers and officials in the Welsh government regarding exposure to asbestos in public buildings in Wales.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: There have been no discussions. The statutory responsibility for ensuring that risks from asbestos are managed falls to the duty holder and to any employer undertaking work on asbestos-containing materials in those premises. For public buildings in Wales this could include, but is not exclusive to, the local authority, schools or the Welsh Government.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Climate Change

The Lord Bishop of Salisbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the Lambeth Declaration on Climate Change, signed by the leaders of the United Kingdom’s Christian and other faith communities and launched on 17 June.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: I very much welcome publication of the Lambeth Declaration 2015 on climate change and would like to thank the Bishop of Salisbury, Nick Holtam, for his work in securing it.Faith communities have a strong track record of bringing about real and lasting change at every level of society so we welcome this significant intervention on climate change and urge all faiths to work together in the lead up to Paris Climate Summit and beyond.We all have a responsibility to learn how to live and develop sustainably in a world of finite resources. Caring for our environment and being conscious of our impact on it is central to many faith’s beliefs and something that faith groups communicate better than anyone.The UK Government is working hard to secure a global climate deal in Paris and will continue to work with stakeholders from all sectors to help deliver an ambitious international agreement on climate change.

Cabinet Office

General Election 2015: Fraud

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role the police played in the prevention of electoral fraud at the General Election in (1) areas identified as being at particular risk of fraud, and (2) other areas.

Lord Bridges of Headley: At elections in the UK, the police are responsible for ensuring that electors’ democratic rights are upheld. The police are also responsible for investigating all allegations of electoral fraud.The previous Government made an additional £500,000 available to 17 local authorities identified as being at greater risk of electoral fraud and the majority of these worked with the police in some capacity. Initiatives included police analysis of data to identify potential issues and providing a greater police presence before and during the poll. Feedback from Returning Officers has been positive.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they expect the report of the Chilcot Inquiry to be published before the summer recess; and, if not, why not.

Lord Bridges of Headley: Sir John Chilcot and the Prime Minister exchanged letters on 15 and 17 June. In his letters, Sir John said that once the essential Maxwellisation process was complete, it was his intention to provide the Prime Minister with a timetable for the completion of the Inquiry’s report.  



Sir John Chilcot to David Cameron Letter 
(PDF Document, 241.08 KB)




David Cameron to Sir John Chilcot Letter 
(PDF Document, 198.08 KB)

House of Lords Composition

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to address the disparity in representation in the House of Lords between the Liberal Democrats and Ukip, in the light of their respective shares of votes in the recent General Election.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to recommend more Liberal Democratic peerages to Her Majesty the Queen; if so, why; if not, why not.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to recommend any Ukip peerages to Her Majesty the Queen; if so, why; and if not, why not.

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the proportionality objective on appointments to the House of Lords as set out in the agreement made by the governing parties in the 2010–15 Coalition agreement remains an objective for Her Majesty's Government over the next five years.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: Appointments are a matter for the Prime Minister. Any appointments will be vetted for propriety by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

Department of Health

Blood: Donors

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness of the shortage of blood donors.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Although blood stocks are currently in a healthy position, there is a continuing need for new donors to fill the gaps left by existing donors who are not able to give blood, particularly from those with blood types A, O and B - to ensure that there is the right mix of blood groups to match patients’ needs. As part of National Blood Week (8-14 June 2015), NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) launched the ‘Missing Type’ campaign highlighting the need for these blood types. NHSBT co-ordinates local and national awareness campaigns such as the ‘Missing Type’ campaign which are intended to motivate thousands of people to start donating blood, specifically targeted at encouraging younger people (aged 17-30) and people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities to become blood donors.

Dermatology: Greater Manchester

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the reduction of dermatology services in Nottingham, what action they are taking to ensure that those services remain in place in Manchester.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Local health services, including dermatology services, are commissioned by local clinical commissioning groups, taking into account the healthcare needs of their populations and having regard to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.   It is for the National Health Service in Manchester to determine the provision of dermatology services locally.   We understand that South and Central Manchester, along with Trafford, clinical commissioning groups have commissioned a new community dermatology service to increase capacity and reduce waiting times.

Mental Patients

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many patients with serious mental illnesses absconded from care in (1) 2009–10, (2) 2010–11, (3) 2011–12, (4) 2012–13, and (5) 2013–14.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risk to the public from the increase in the number of seriously mentally ill patients who have absconded from care since 2009–10.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the cut in mental health in-patient beds on the number of patients with serious mental illnesses who have absconded from care.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The information is not held in the format requested. Mental health providers have been required to notify the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of patients who have been absent without leave. The following table shows the number of notifications of patients absent without leave since 2010-11 and 2012-13, latest data available.   Notifications of absence without leave from 2010-11 to 2012-13   Year2010-112011-122012-13Notifications418348963923 Source: Care Quality Commission   Since 1 April 2010, providers have been required to notify the CQC of any inpatients who are absent without leave, which is defined by certain parameters. For the first three years of this data collection, providers were required to notify the CQC of all patients absent without leave whose absence records were still open at midnight on the day the absence began. Incidences of absences at any time from high security hospitals, and the return of persons from unauthorised absences had to be recorded also.   Between 2010-11 to 2012-13, all mental health providers were required to notify the CQC of patients who were absent without leave.   Since 1 April 2013, only mental health providers with a designated level of security of high, medium or low are required to notify the CQC of patients who are absent without leave. In 2013-14 there were 909 notifications of absence without leave from services designated as low, medium or high security.   There has been no assessment of the risk to the public of patients absent without leave. Instances of mental health patients absent without leave causing harm to the public are rare. We would expect mental health providers to work with their commissioners, other partners and the authorities if a patient reported as absent without leave poses a significant risk to the public.   There has been no assessment of the impact of availability of mental health beds on the numbers of patients reported as absent without leave. Commissioners and mental health providers work together to ensure the availability of inpatient beds for people who require them based on need.

Agency Nurses: Greater London

Baroness Manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many agency nurses worked in London teaching hospitals in (1) 2011–12, (2) 2012–13, and (3) 2013–14; and how many are working or have worked in the National Health Service in the current financial year.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department does not hold information on the number of agency nurses that work or have worked in London teaching hospitals.

Agency Nurses

Baroness Manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many agency nurses worked across the National Health Service in (1) 2011–12, (2) 2012–13, and (3) 2013–14; and how many are working or have worked in the National Health Service in the current financial year.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department does not hold information on the number of agency nurses that work or have worked across the National Health Service.

NHS Foundation Trusts: Private Finance Initiative

Baroness Manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many NHS foundation trusts have major Private Finance Initiative contracts; and how many of those hospitals are in debt.

Lord Prior of Brampton: 37 of the 153 National Health Service foundation trusts have a completed major (over £10 million capital cost) Private Finance Initiative scheme. Of these 37, 20 will end 2014-15 with a financial deficit.

Exercise

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan actively to promote physical activity in the light of reports that cities that do so experience increases in retail activity and revenue, and lower healthcare and crime costs.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Government recognises the health, economic and social benefits to individuals, communities and the nation of increasing physical activity levels. Through the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework, local authorities are encouraged to ensure development plans and proposals promote active, healthy lifestyles and well-being including active travel, like cycling and walking, and access to high quality open space and sport and recreation facilities. It is for local authorities, as statutory planning bodies, to determine how best to apply this guidance in their own area.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve mental health services for teenagers.

Lord Prior of Brampton: This Government is committed to improving mental health services for teenagers as part of our focus on children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. The Department is working with NHS England and other partners to drive forward system wide, sustainable transformation to improve the support offered to children and young people. We are already making progress in a number of areas including: - the extension and expansion of the children and young people’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme; - the commissioning of a new prevalence survey on mental health problems in children and young people; and - joint training and piloting of staff in schools and local mental health services to strengthen the mental health support and advice available in schools.   In addition, NHS England is leading work to develop new access and waiting time standards for eating disorder services.

Nuts

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote the eating of nuts, in the light of reports that doing so could substantially lower the risk of early death.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Nuts can make a useful contribution to intakes of protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals within a balanced diet. They are also rich in fat and are therefore a concentrated source of energy (calories).   Government promotes a healthy balanced diet as visually depicted in the eatwell plate. As part of this, the Government recommends people eat some meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein including nuts.

NHS: Expenditure

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they expect will be the total expenditure on the National Health Service for each of the years 2014–15 and 2015–16.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department expects to spend £113.3 billion in 2014-15 and £116.6 billion in 2015-16 on health and social care, of which £98.1 billion and £101.1 billion respectively was allocated to NHS England to commission health services.   These figures represent total Departmental Expenditure Limit spending and include National Health Service commissioners, NHS providers, the Department of Health itself and its arm’s length bodies, including Public Health England and Health Education England.

NHS: Expenditure

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what part of the total expenditure on the National Health Service during 2014–15 was incurred (1) by general practice, (2) by individual hospitals, and (3) in respect of administration of the National Health Service (a) at Government level, and (b) by NHS management above the level of individual hospitals.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The 2014-15 data is not available as the accounts are still being audited.